Carton handling apparatus



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CARTON HANDLING APPARATUS I Filed Nov. :5, 1955 7 Sheets-Sheet 1 IN VEN TOR.

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CARTON HANDLING APPARATUS Filed Nov. 3, 1955 '7 Sheets-Sheet 4 Feb. 4, 1958 H. E. KNAPPEQ 2,821,824

CARTON HANDLING APPARATUS Filed Nov. 3, 1955 v 7 Sheets-Sheet 5 IN V EN TOR.

Feb. 4, 1958 H. E. KNAPPE 2,821,824

CARTON HANDLING APPARATUS Filed Nov. 5, 1955 7 Sheets-Sheet 6 IN V EN TOR.

j /ez'mgyz 70252 0 2 Feb. 4, 1958 A H. E. KNAPPE 7 2,821,324

' CARTON HANDLING APPARATUS Filed Nov. 3, 1955 1 Sheets-Sheet 7 IN VEN TOR.

CARTON HANDLING APPARATUS Herman E. Knap'pe, Milwaukee, Wis., assignor'to Chei'r'y- Burrell Corporation, Chicago, 111., a corporation of Delaware ApplicationNove'mberli, 1955, Serial No. 544,666

9 Claims. (Cl. 53- 53) My invention relates to apparatus for handling milk cartons and the like, and has reference more particularly to facilities for opening the lid portions of such cartons, advancing the cartons successively into filling position, and rejecting cartons not properly positioned or opened for filling.

The cartons which the apparatus of my invention is adapted to handle are of the type manufactured by the American Can Company and sold under the trademark Cameo These are relatively tall, upstanding cartons of substantially squ are cross-section wherein a hole is provided in the top adjacent one corner and a hinged lid is provided which is adapted to plug said hole and seal over the edges of the corner adjoining the hole.

Fillers have been made heretofore for handling and filling cartons of this type but most of these have been of a. relatively complex type built to handle and fill a great number of cartons at a relatively high rate of speed such as one hundred or more quarts a minute. Similar filling devices have been made to handle and fill fewer cartons per minute, but they have tended to retain muchof the complexity ot the larger machines and to be somewhat cumbersome and troublesome. A particular problem has been to insure proper opening and positioning of cartons for filling and the positive rejection thereof when. the cartons are not properly opened or positioned.

It is the principal object of my invention to design carton handling apparatus for carton fillers which will open cartons of the described type, advance such cartons to'position for filling, and reject cartons which are turned with the hole at'the top of the carton in the wrong loca tion for filling, which are otherwise improperly positioned for filling, or which-have their lids unopened.

It is another object of my invention to design a machine of'this character Which is adapted for one man operation and which is suitable for small and medium size dairies or for cartoning by any size dairy of such specialty products as cream, orange juice, chocolate milk, or the like.

It is a further object of my invention toprovide such a device which is simple and convenient, which occupies a minimum of floor space, and which consolidates functions heretofore regarded as requiring a plurality of stages, these and other objects being accomplished as hereinafter described, reference being had to the accompanying drawing in which Fig. l is a side view of a carton filler of the type to which my invention relates;

Fig.2 is a top view of the filler of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view on the line 33- of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a top View of the facilities for opening the carton lids;

Fig. 5 is a view on the line 5-5 of Fig. 4 showing the Fig. 9 is a side view partially in section showing the mechanism for operating the lid opener;

Fig. 10 is a view on the line 1010 of Fig. 9;

Fig. 11 is a side view of probe facilities for determining whether the carton is properly positioned;

Fig. 12 is a vertical view partly in section through the center of the filler showing the probe facilities of Fig. ll;

Fig. 13 is a view on the line 13-13 of Fig.12; and

Fig. -14 is a view on the line 14-14 of Fig. 12.

Referring now to the drawing, the carton filler with which my carton handling mechanism is adapted to be used is shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the filler base being designated generally by the reference numeral 20, the liquid reservoir or bowl by the numeral 21, the infeed conveyor by the numeral 22, and the discharge trough by the numeral 23. The bowl 21 is supported on an upright central column 24 which is rotatably mounted on the base 20; the bowl 21 being rotatable with said column 24..-

-In a filler of this type, cartons 25 are placed on the infeed conveyor 22 and are advanced thereby to thecarton handling facilities embodying my invention, and these serve both to open the lid 26 of each carton 25, thus exposing. the filling and pouring hole 27 in the top of the carton 25 so as to permit filling, and to transfer the carton 25 to filling position unless such carton 25 is in the wrong position for filling or has a defective lid, in which case the carton 25' is rejected. The cartons 25 are received successively by the filler and carried therearoundby carton carrying facilities mounted on said column 24 during which time each. carton 25 is, in turn, filled and sealed and the cartons 25 are then accumulated on the discharge trough 23. From there, they may be picked up manually by the operator and placed in crates for delivery to milk trucks or stores.

The infeed conveyor 22 is preferably of the type in which a continuous belt is maintained in constant motion toward the -filler, the successive cartons 25 being'placed thereon by hand and properly aligned as shown in Fig.- 3 with the lids 26 at the forward, left' hand corner of the cartons 25' as determined by the direction of movement of. said cartons 25 indicated by arrow A in Fig. 4. The cartons 25 are kept in proper alignment by means of a guide 28--alongi the left edge of the infe'ed conveyor 22 and by a corresponding guide 29 at the opposite side of the infeed conveyor 22. The leading c' arton 25 moves forward along the infeed conveyor 22 until itstrikes a lateral guide rail 30' across the conveyor path, as shown in Fig. 4. The carton 25' is retained in engagement with the rail 30 by the pressure exerted 'on it by the succes= sion of cartons 25 being urged frictionally theretoward by the movement of. the conveyor 22 under the cartons 25 toward the rail 30. An upper guide 31 along the' righ t hand side of the conveyor 22 forms a right angle with the lateral guide rail 30 to provide a corner in which each carton 25, in its turn, is received squarely in proper posttion for opening of the lid 26 and for transfer therefrom to the filler.

An upstanding post 32 is" mounted near one edge of the base2tl adjacent the discharge end of the irifeed c n veyor 22, and an overhead guide 33 is mounted thereon. Said guide 33' is' s'om'ewhat bracket-shapedwith one end afiixed to the post 32, an intermediate section 34 criteria ing toward the infeed conveyor 22 in a horizontal plane approximately carton height thereabove, and a shoe 35 at the other end of said intermediate section 34 and in the same horizontal: plane therewith, said shoe 35 extending at right angles with respect tosaid intermediate section 34 in the direction toward cartons 25 approaching on the infeed conveyor 22.

The shoe 35 is providedat its free end with anup turned too '36: as shown in Fig. 7 so that as *ca'rton'tl 25 move along the infeed conveyor 22 in the direction indicated by the arrows A in Figs. 4 and 7, those which may be out of line will be pressed gently downward into proper position on said conveyor 22 as they engage and pass under said upturned toe 36 and the shoe 35. Thus when a carton 25 comes into engagement with the lateral guide rail 30 at the end of the infeed conveyor 22, it has been aligned laterally by the left guide 28, the right guide 29, and the upper guide 31 and is held against upward displacement by the overhead guide 33.

In order to open the lid 26 of the carton 25 when it is at the discharge end of the infeed conveyor 22, a crank 37 is mounted on the upstanding post 32 and extends therefrom obliquely over the overhead guide 33 to a position over the corner of the carton 25 in which the hole 27 is provided when the carton 25 is properly positioned as shown in Fig. 4. The lid 26 has a downturned flange 38 which fits somewhat loosely over the top edge of the carton 25 and tends to flare somewhat outwardly from the corner thereof. The crank 37 has an outwardly extending, downwardly turned finger 39 with a claw 40 at the end thereof as shown in Figs. 4, 5, and 7, said claw 40 being so positioned as to be immediately under the somewhat extended downturned flange 38 of the lid 26 when the carton 25 is at the discharge end of the infeed conveyor 22.

At substantially the instant when the carton 25 has come to rest at the discharge end of the infeed conveyor 22 and is in engagement with the lateral guide rail 30, the crank 37 is rotated upwardly through a limited, clockwise are from the position shown in Fig. to that shown in Fig. 6, and as the crank 37 is so rotated the claw 40 engages the lower edge of the flange 38 of the lid 26 and raises said lid 26 to the position shown in Fig. 6. At that instant a pusher 41 which is disposed at the right side of the infeed conveyor 22, and which is adapted to reciprocate in sliding engagement along the lateral guide rail 30, is caused to move toward the filler in the direction indicated by the arrows B in Fig. 4, thus pushing the carton 25 in that direction across a horizontal support 42 to the carton-carrying facilities mounted on the filler.

The carton-carrying facilities comprise a corner seat 43 and a hand 44 spaced upwardly therefrom, said seat 43 having a triangular portion and upwardly extending side walls at two sides forming a right angle corner and adapted to receive a corner portion of the bottom of a carton 25, as shown by the dotted lines 43a in Fig. 3. The hand 44 is formed at right angles to engage the same corner of the carton 25 near the top thereof, said hand 44 being disposed at the outer end of an arm 45 mounted on the upright central column 24 and extending relatively radially therefrom. The corner seat 43 is mounted on an upright shaft 46 spaced from the central column 24 and slidably engaged near its respective ends through a shaft opening 47 in the arm 45 and through a shaft opening 48 axially aligned therewith in a radial member 49 integral with said central column 24 and corresponding to the arm 45.

In a preferred form of my invention, the upright central column 24 is provided with four sets of carton-carrying facilities as described, spaced 90 degrees apart around said column 24. The pusher 41 is timed to operate as the carton-carrying facilities moving clockwise on the rotating central column 24 are in position to receive the carton 25 as indicated in Fig. 4. In this position, one side each of the seat 43 and the hand 44 is aligned with the lateral guide rail 30 and the other respective sides of said seat 43 and hand 44 being at right angles thereto and parallel to the infeed conveyor 22 and the guides 28, 29, and 31 therealong.

As the carton 25 is pushed by the pusher 41 from its position to the discharge end of the infeed conveyor 22 across the horizontal support 42 into engagement with the seat 43 and the hand 44, its lid 26 has been partially opened by the claw 40, as shown in Fig. 6. The carton 25 is held against downward displacement by said horizontal support 42 and against upward displacement by the intermediate section 34 of the overhead guide 33.

An opening plow 50 is mounted on the upstanding post 32 and is disposed in substantially the same oblique direction as the crank 37. The plow 50 has a somewhat arched central section 51 and a free end 52 which projects to a position near the finger 39 in a horizontal plane between that of the claw 40 in its lower position as shown in Fig. 5 and that of said claw 40 in its uppermost position as shown in Fig. 6. Thus, as the pusher 41 shoves the carton 25 in the direction indicated by the arrows B in Fig. 4, the flange 38 of the lid 26 slides off of the claw 40 and may be opened somewhat further than shown in Fig. 6 during such sliding movement. As the carton begins to pass under the opening plow 50 and the lid 26 becomes disengaged from the claw 40, said lid 26 tends to move toward the closed position but as it does, it strikes the free end 52 of the opening plow 50. The continued movement of the carton 25 under the plow 50 causes the partially opened lid 26 to slide along the edge of the free end 52 of the plow 50 to the arched central portion 51 thereof at which point the lid 26 is more than half way opened, and when the carton 25 becomes engaged in the seat 43 and the hand 44 the lid is doubled back under the fixed end 53 of the plow 50, as shown in Figs. 4 and 11. When so engaged by the seat 43 and the hand 44, the carton 25 moves immediately in the direction indicated by arrow C in Fig. 4 circumferentially around the filler as the upright central column 24 rotates. 4

A probe 54 is provided on the upstanding post 32, said probe 54 comprising an upstanding leg 55 and a weighted foot 56 with a pivot shaft 57 therebetween passing through the upstanding post 32, said shaft 57 being secured at its respective ends to the leg 55 and the foot 56. The upstanding leg 55 extends upwardly alongside the upstanding post 32 at the side opposite from the infeed conveyor 22 and has a somewhat L-shaped extension 58 passing around the side of the upstanding post 32 toward the filler, the L-shaped extension 58 having a contact edge 59 as shown in Fig. 4. The .L-shaped extension 58 extends under the fixed end 53 of the opening plow 50 in substantially the same oblique direction with respect to the path of movement of the cartons 25 as the crank 37 and said opening plow 50. The contact edge 59 of the L-shaped extension 58 may be tapered as indicated by the dotted lines in Fig. 4.

The weighted foot 56 is of sufiicient weight and is so balanced with respect to the upstanding leg 55 that said weighted foot 56 will normally cause the upstanding leg 55 to lean forward until it engages a guide bar 60 mounted on the upstanding post 32 as shown in Fig. 3. The broken lines 55a of Fig. 11 show the upstanding leg 55 in its normal position at rest against the bar 60.

A circular cam track 61 is provided on the base 20 encircling the upright central column 24. The upright shaft 46 is provided with a lifting attachment 62 secured thereto between the radial member 49 and the seat member 43, said lifting attachment 62 being provided with a leg 63 hinged thereto at 64, said leg 63 having an outwardly disposed contact face 65 and a roller 66 mounted therebelow on said leg 63 at the lower end thereof in a position to engage and roll upon the cam track 61.

A reject pawl 67 is suspended in pendulum relation from the radial member 49. The reject pawl 67 has at its lower end an inwardly turned knuckle 68 adapted to bear against the contact face 65 of the leg 63 and an outwardly turned knuckle 69 in substantially the same horizontal plane as the weighted foot 56 of the probe 54 when said probe 54 is in its normal position as indicated by the broken lines in Fig. 11.

The cam track 61 is inclined at the zone opposite the weighted foot 56, the incline being such as to engage the roller-"66 as it passes the weighted foot 56 When the radial member 49 moves in a clockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 14. Each radial member 49 is provided in trailing relation with respect to the reject pawl 67 with a foot lifting bracket 70 having an inclined upward face 71, the forward end of which is lower than the bottom of the weighted foot 56 when the probe 54 is in the rest position with the leg 55 disposed as indicated by the broken lines 55:: in Fig. 11. The trailing edge of the inclined upward face 71 is at a sutficient level to support the weighted foot 56 in the raised position indicated by the solid lines in Fig. 11.

Thus, as the central column 24 rotates, the foot lifting bracket 70 passes slowly under the weighted foot 56 and lifts it to the position indicated by the solid lines in Fig. 11'. When the probe 54 is in that position, the pusher 41, as heretofore described, pushes a carton 25 to the position of carton 25a in Fig. 4. lf the carton 25 was in the proper position on the infeed conveyor 22, the lid 26 will have been opened as heretofore described and will beheld in the open position by the opening plow 50, as shown in Figs. 4, and 11, and will be in that position as the foot lifting bracket 70 rotates beyond the end of the weighted foot 56. At that time, as the carton 25 is advanced by the carton-holding facilities, the lid 26 continues to pass under the fixed end 53 of the opening plow 50 and engages the contact edge 59 of the probe 54. The presence of the opened lid 26 under the fixed end 53 of the opening plow 50 in engagement with the contact edge 59 of the probe 54 prevents the weighted foot 56 of the probe 54 from dropping back into the normal position indicated by the broken lines 56a in Fig. 11. It thus supports the weighted foot 56 above the outwardly turned knuckle 69 of the reject pawl 67 as said reject pawl 67 moves past said weighted foot 56.

If the carton 25 had been fed along the infeed conveyor 22 and turned in any other direction with the lid 26 at any corner other than the leading left hand edge, or if the carton 25 were inverted, or if the lid 26 were missing, or defective, or for some reason had failed to open properly, the lid 26 would not be engaged by the opening plow 50 and would not be positioned to engage the contact edge 59 of the probe 54. Thus, after the foot lifting bracket 70 had passed beyond the weighted foot 56, said weighted foot 56 will drop to the broken line position of Fig. 11 and the reject pawl 67 would move into engagement with the weighted foot 56. As it did so, the oblique contact edge 72 of the weighted foot 56 would be engaged by the outwardly turned knuckle 69 of said reject pawl 67. The outwardly turned knuckle 69 of the reject pawl 67 being thus engaged against the weighted foot 56, the inwardly turned knuckle 68 thereof would be caused to bear against the contact face 65 of the pivoted leg 63 and the continued movement of the reject pawl 67 along the oblique contact edge 72 of said weighted foot 56 would push said leg 63 radially inwardly out of alignment with the cam track 61 as indicated by the dotted lines 63a in Fig. 12.

The carton-supporting facilities comprising the corner seat 43 and the hand 44 are sufficient to hold the carton 25 in proper position only with the cooperation of suitable guide means to engage the opposite corner of such carton 25. An arcuate guide bar 60 is provided as shown in Fig. 3 adjacent the upstanding post 32. Therebeyond elevated circumferential guides 73 and 74 are provided around the periphery of the filler. When the roller 66 engages the cam track 61 during the rotation of the filler and the upright shaft 46 is raised thereby to lift the carton 25 into filling position with the filling nozzle 75 in the hole 27, the outer corner of the carton 25 is engaged successively by the elevated circumferential guides 73 and- 74 so as to prevent displacement of the carton 25 from the seat 43 and the hand 44.

In the event of the carton 25 being improperly positioned so that the roller 66, as heretofore explained, is

pushed out of engagement with the can! track 61', the upright shaft 46 is not raised and when the carton 25 has moved with rotation of the filler beyond the guide bar 60, not having been raised high enough to engage the elevated circumferential guides '73 and 74, the carton 25 falls by gravity out of engagement with the seat 43 and the hand 44.

While the operation of the filling valves 76 is not a part of this invention, it will be understood that such valves are operated by engagement of the valve operating levers 77 when such levers engage earns 78 during rotation which occurs only when the rollers 66 travel over the cam' track 61 and raise the upright shaft 46 in operating position. Thus, as the hinged leg 63 is pushed out of alignment with the cam track 61 because of action of the probe 54 when the carton 25 is in the wrong position, the carton 25 drops out of the carton-holding facilities as a result of failure of the upright shaft 46 to raise the carton 25 into engagement with the elevated circumferential guides 73 and 74. Likewise, as a further result of failure of the upright shaft 46 to move upwardly, the valve operating levers 77 are not moved into position to engage the cam 78 and thus when the carton 25 is not in the-proper position to be filled, it is rejected and the" filling valve 76 does not operate.

The facilities for opening the lids 26 maybe operated by the use of any commonly used mechanical means; However, in Fig. 9 I have shown the interior of the upstanding post 32 and the lever 79, which is provided there'- in for operating the crank 37. The lever 79 is supported at its approximate midpoint on a pivot 80 journaled as shown in the walls of the upstanding post 32. Near its lower end, the lever 79 is provided with a horizontally disposed roller 81 which is operated by a cam 82, rotating in coordination with the filler through a conventional mechanical drive from a motor in the base 20. Immediately below the roller 81, a rod 83 may be connected to the lever 79 with its opposite end extending through a bracket 84. A spring engaged on the rod 84 is adapted to be compressed between the lever 79 and the bracket 84 when the cam 82 causes the lever 79' to be rocked on its pivot 80, in order to operate the crank 37. The compression of the spring 85 urges the roller 81 into constant engagement against the rotating cam 82 and thus as the cam 82 permits the lever 79 rocks back into normal upright position.

The crank 37 is mounted on a shaft 86 and secured thereto, the shaft 86 being provided at its other end with an operating crank 87 inside the upstanding post 32. The end of said crank 87 is engaged between the prongs of a fork 88 secured to the upper end of the lever 79'. Thus when the lower end of the lever 79 is operated in one direction by the cam 82 bearing against the roller SI, thus rocking or tilting the lever 79, the upper end of the lever 79 moves the other direction, the fork 88 portion thereof manipulating the crank 37 to produce the lidopening movement heretofore described as disclosed in Figs. 5 and 6.

The cartons 25 shown in the drawing are of the one quart size, but the facilities are adjustable to handle pints, third-quarts, and half pints. The seats 43, for example, may be set in different positions on the stem 89 at the levels indicated by the positioning holes 90. Likewise, supplemental guides may be added to the guides 73 and 74 to handle cartons of reduced lateral dimension. The guide bar 60 is adjustable correspondingly as are the right guide 29 and the upper guide 31 along the infeed conveyor 22. The level of the conveyor 22 may be raised to different levels and the horizontal support 42, to corresponding levels to handle the various size cartons. F

The crank 37, the plow 50, and the probe 54 do no require adjustment, however, as they are adapted to handle cartons of any size, so long as they are aligned along the left guide 28 of the conveyor 22 and the lateral guide rail 30 as shown in Fig. 4 with the tops of the cartons immediately under the overhead guide 33. In all sizes of cartons, the filling hole 27 and the lid 26 are identical in size and location and the lids 26 are hinged the same distance from the corner of the carton 25 in which the hole 27 is disposed. Thus, since they are identical, the lids 26 are raised by the claw 40 in the same manner, they are engaged and folded back by the plow 50, and they engage the probe 54 in the same manner regardless of carton size.

I have shown and described my invention in a preferred form but am aware that various modifications may be made therein without departing from the spirit of my invention, the scope of which is to be determined by the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a carton handling device of the class described, the combination of a pusher adapted to move a carton along a predetermined path from a lid opening location to a carton filling position, lid engaging facilities disposed at said location and reciproc'able upwardly to raise a carton lid, means for reciprocating said facilities, a lid opening plow arranged diagonally over said path and adapted to catch a partially opened lid and bend it back, and a probe located adjacent said position and having a portion engageable by said lid when bent back.

2. In a carton handling device of the class described, the combination of a pusher adapted to move a carton having a lid along a predetermined path from a lid opening location to a carton filling position, lid engaging facilities disposed at said location and reciprocable upwardly to raise said lid, means for reciprocating said facilities, a lid opening plow arranged diagonally over said path and adapted to catch a partially opened lid and bend it back, and a probe located adjacent said position and having a portion engageable by said lid when bent back, and carton rejecting facilities adapted to be activated by said probe when not engaged by a bent back lid.

3. A carton handling device of the class described comprising the combination of means for moving a carton along a predetermined path from a lid opening location to a probe activating position, lid engaging facilities disposed "adjacent said location and adapted to reciprocate upwardly at selected time intervals to open a carton lid when a carton is at such location with the lid disposed toward said lid engaging facilities, means for reciprocating said facilities, a lid opening barrier interposed across said path and adapted to catch and fold back a partially opened lid as the carton passes thereunder, and a lid engaging probe member disposed adjacent said position and adapted to engage a lid when folded under said barrier at such location.

4. A carton handling device of the class described comprising the combination of means for moving a carton along a predetermined path from a lid opening location to a probe activating position, lid engaging facilities disposed adjacent said location and adapted to reciprocate upwardly at selected intervals, means for so reciprocating said facilities, a lid opening barrier interposed across said path and adapted to catch and fold back a partially opened lid as the carton passes thereunder, a lid engaging probe member yieldably mounted adjacent said position and adapted to engage a lid when folded under said barrier at such location and in the absence of such lid to protrude into the space between the carton and the barrier, and carton rejecting means adapted to be activated by said probe when it protrudes into the space between the carton and the barrier.

5. Facilities for handling lidded cartons of the class described comprising the combination of a conveyor for advancing a carton along a predetermined path from a lid-opening zone to a carton carrier, a lid raising finger adjacent said zone and adapted when a carton lid is in a selected position on the carton to engage and raise such lid, means for raising said finger, a barrier disposed diagonally across said path from a position near said carton carrier to said lid-opening zone and adapted to catch and fold back a partially raised lid as the carton passes thereunder, displaceable means on said carton carrier for lifting said carrier to carton filling position, and a retractable probe member adapted in normal position to displace said means, said probe having a portion extending under said barrier in a manner to be engaged by a folded back carton lid, the probe when so engaged being held in retracted position to prevent displacement of said means.

6. Facilities for supplying open cartons ready to be filled to a carton filling machine comprising the combination with a filling machine of a carton carrier thereon, a conveyor for moving cartons successively from a lid-opening zone along a predetermined path to said carrier, a lid-engaging claw mounted at said zone in reciprocable relation, means for reciprocating said claw at selected intervals to open the lids of successive cartons, a plow interposed over said conveyor path to engage and fold back thereunder the opened lids of successive cartons as they pass thereunder from said zone, a displaceable cam-engaging leg onsaid carrier, a cam on said filling machine adapted to be engaged by said cam-engaging leg when in its normal position, and means for causing displacement of said cam-engaging leg, said means comprising a lever having a lid-engaging end and a legengaging end remote therefrom, said lid-engaging end being adapted to project under said plow in a manner to be engaged by the lid of a carton passing thereunder when said lid is in folded back position under the plow, and said leg-engaging end thereof being adapted to engage and displace said cam-engaging leg except when the lid-engaging end is engaged with a folded back lid.

7. Facilities of the class described for checking whether carton lids are open and in proper position comprising the combination of a passage along which cartons are adapted to move, a member disposed over said passage in a manner to engage a properly opened and positioned lid and hold such lid in a folded back position as it passes under said member, and a probe adapted to determine whether said lid is open and properly positioned comprising a retractable element adapted to bear yieldably into the space between said member and the top of a carton moving along said passage and to be retracted by a properly positioned lid.

8. A carton handling device of the class described comprising a conveyor, a bar extending obliquely thereacross in a manner to project between a carton top and a partially opened lid as the carton starts to move along said conveyor, and to raise and bend said lid back as the carton advances further therealong, and a member adapted to protrude yieldably into the space between the top of a carton and said bar and to be so aligned with a lid bent back under said bar as to be displaced by such lid as the carton of which it is a part moves along said conveyor.

9. A carton lid opening and checking device of the class described comprising a conveyor, a lid lifter thereover for partially raising a carton lid, a bar spaced therefrom and projecting obliquely over said conveyor at the height of a partially raised carton lid, and a yieldable probe mounted adjacent said bar and protruding thereunder in a manner to engage an open carton lid.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

